AN ILLEGAL immigrant stayed under the radar for 13 years after being smuggled into the UK in the back of a lorry before he was finally caught.

Sohan Dhillon had been here so long he had even carved himself out a tax-free job earning thousands as a builder.

Yet when police and Border Agency staff raided a house in Walker, Newcastle, his cover was finally blown . . .yet even then Dhillon nearly slipped through the net after giving a false name and producing a stolen passport.

Now he has been jailed for eight months for possessing an identification document with an improper intention.

However he has served 107 days on remand, meaning he will be released almost immediately unless the Home Office decide to deport him.

Judge Roger Thorn QC, at Newcastle Crown Court, told him: “The police were tipped off there were illegal immigrants in the house where you and your son were.

“You presented a passport to justify your presence in this country and you were able to support it with an explanation the officers thought was genuine and valid.

“However the deception here went on from the start of your period in the country, you were keeping below the radar, working illegally and not paying taxes.”

Police and the Border Agency went to a house on Cresswell Street, Walker, Newcastle, on May 28 this year.

Dhillon, 52, answered the door and there were five more men inside the property. The house next door was also searched and three more men were found in there who said they paid their rent to Dhillon.

He claimed he was a British citizen and gave a false name and an address in Hartlepool.

When interviewed, the defendant admitted giving false details. He said he arrived in the UK in 1999 on the back of a lorry.

The Border Agency found a man with his details was given entrance clearance in 1999 for six months but there was no further application to remain in this country.

Brian Hegarty, defending, said: “He has been working and has been out of trouble, he was trying to keep under the radar.